TRP: Goro, Hansel, and Mishka (Fire-Breathing Bear)
COYOTE ' 280. Setting: The castle in Glimmerton. Mishka goes to ask Hansel to spar with him. Mishka was bored-- and fucking restless. The air felt heavy with heat and humidity, which always left him itching unpleasantly, like the white-hot magic under his skin needed something to release it. Joan was gone. Dealing with some shit inside Skyport, he was pretty sure. So instead, he went and found Hansel, and located him inside the castle. Mishka cracked into his lap on the couch. "Hansel," he said. "Pay attention to me." He was pretty sure he was sitting on a book, but that wasn't important right now. Husband. Attention. '''IZZY ' Hansel blinked. Well, he guessed he wasn't fuckin' reading anymore, so. "All right." He tackled Mishka to the floor, pinning him down and kissing his face viciously, grinning. 'COYOTE ' "No!" Mishka said, squirming. "No! Too much attention! Less! Less!" 'IZZY ' "Nah, you made your bed." Hansel chomped down on his shoulder playfully a couple times, growling. 'COYOTE ' Mishka scoffed. He clawed his way over to Hansel's shoulder and sank his teeth in to show Hansel how it felt. That'd teach him. 'IZZY ' "Nice." Hansel nuzzled against him roughly for it, scratching Mishka's face with his beard. 'COYOTE ' Mishka bit harder. This was the shoulder without the shark scar. He'd get him. 'IZZY ' Hansel snuggled him. "Cute li'l ish." 'COYOTE ' Mishka had to let go in order to threaten him properly. "I'm dangerous," Mishka informed him. "Deadly, even. Roast men alive. I bet I could take you." 'IZZY ' "Mmhm." He scratched his beard against Mishka's face again, then gave him a smug look. "Bet what, huh?" 'COYOTE ' "Mm." Mishka's eyes sparked now that he realized he could get something out of this. He tried not to look greedy. "You have to do what I say for one whole week. I'll make you give me back rubs and bring me things. Feed me grapes." 'IZZY ' "Oh, yeah? And what do I get when I win, 'cause you already do whatever I want, nesichi." 'COYOTE ' "I'll admit that's a hole in the bet, but I'm willing to live with it. Shall we shake on it?" 'IZZY ' "Nah." Hansel tapped his forehead against Mishka's, amused. "Gimme somethin' better." 'COYOTE ' Mishka hummed. It was pretty fucking difficult, actually, because he couldn't think of a single thing Hansel wanted. Hansel was a simple man, and he mostly just wanted his family around him, and booze to drink, and problems to solve. Whenever Mishka thought of something Hansel would like, he did it or acquired it. He didn't have anything prepared right now. Nothing on tap. Mishka started musing out loud. "We could... bet five hundred gold apiece. Or I could promise not to drag you to any boring state dinners... but I already don't drag you to those." He cut his eyes at Hansel. "War's over, we've got plenty of time. Could wager something dirty." Then he moved on. "Could wager something else, though. Maybe... ah. Y'know that old couch of mine? The one from my estate you loved so much? It's still there. Winner gets the couch." 'IZZY ' Hansel snorted. "Yeah, okay." He drew back, pulling Mishka on upright, and offered his hand, smirking. 'Cause if Mishka won, and got the couch, it was still gonna fuckin' be Hansel's couch, anyway. 'COYOTE ' "Gonna fucking beat you," Mishka said, and got up, brushing himself off. -- They headed down to find a space to fight. They needed somewhere fairly isolated, so Mishka didn't accidentally cause a castle fire or forest fire. He thought about dragging Joan, or Roddy, or Goro along, but, eh, it might get weird or violent. Plus... Hansel might get upset during the fight. Mishka needed to watch him, make sure he was really okay sparring like this again. Yeah. Better in private. Instead, he brought along a couple healing potions. Just in case. He led Hansel down to a bit flat place down by the shore-- a big rocky beach. "This work for you, Granger?" 'IZZY ' Hansel glanced around. They were well away from the castle by now, or anything particularly flammable -- or whatever the hell he might end up doing with his magic. All seemed safe enough. He stretched his back and rolled his shoulders and neck, loosening up. "Aye, cap'n." Grinning, he pulled his trident off his back and gave it a toss up, catching and spinning it just to show off. 'COYOTE ' "Pft," Mishka said. He mentally rearranged his spell slots a little. He had a little extra energy to play around with, but he'd already burned some cracking into Hansel's lap and demanding attention. Worth it, though. Worth it. Mishka rubbed his skin, which still pleasantly ached in some areas. He delicately unlaced his boots to give himself better purchase in the sand, then took off his cloak-- it was too hot to fight in. He drew his flame-tongue rapier, then tossed his dancing rapier into the air next to it. "Well, whenever you're ready to get your ass handed to you, come at me, I suppose." 'IZZY ' Hansel snorted and readied his shield. He wasn't in any fuckin' hurry. 'COYOTE ' Mishka eyed the odd gem attachment Hansel had. He knew it could absorb magic. That threw him off, a little. Instead of coming out the gate with a fireball spell, he decided to do something else, instead. He aimed a firebolt directly at Hansel's head and missed by a mile-- the sun was in his eyes-- but that was no matter. He used the energy to feed a little fire resistance for himself so that if Hansel absorbed a fireball spell and threw it back at him, it wouldn't hurt as bad. The firebolt distracted Hansel. Mishka's dancing rapier sliced him across the arm. Mishka circled around to put the sun at his back. 'IZZY ' A mote of fire went wide, but Hansel tracked it too long, and the dancing rapier got too close and nicked him. He snorted. It was a nice little toy, but rapiers just couldn't hurt him all that much -- too thick-skinned. Mishka slipped around him, and he lashed out twice with his trident. The first one didn't make contact -- the trident just bounced against something like a magnet turned the wrong way, and a wave of crackling green and gold light erupted out from the tines. Hansel gave a surprised grunt, but he'd seen weirder shit -- it broke down when he went in again, stabbing into Mishka leg. Didn't go deep. Still, he felt a little bit of a twinge. Thought about that day, on the Sugar Glider. Pinning Mishka by the arm, his eyes all blacked out. He shook it off, backing away a bit. They'd had a lot more fucking sparring matches that ended without anyone dying, or -- getting too hurt to defend themselves later. It was fine. He didn't have to force the little bit of a grin. "New trick, there, motek?" 'COYOTE ' "Maybe," Mishka said, grinning. His skin buzzed with heat and energy and excitement. He had to hold it in, remember this was Hansel, not to hurt him too bad. Watch Hansel's face carefully for any hint of upset. Hansel seemed okay. Mishka sent his dancing rapier in again and missed. At the same time, he snapped his fingers, and a fireball exploded behind Hansel, and the beach whipped with sand and dust, obscuring his target. Mishka smirked. He was pretty fucking sure that fireball must've knocked Hansel down by half. It was a really good one. 'IZZY ' Hansel threw his arm up, letting the fire scorch him, and it sank into him like sunlight -- didn't seem to burn quite so much as it usually did, actually. Kinda pleasant. That was just him, though. He had some new tricks since last time, too. Dust and sand exploded around him, and he used the brief cover. Thought about the times he'd seen bears out in the woods back home -- big lumbering things. Always seemed pretty sedate as long as he was just watching from a distance. 'Course, on the other hand, one had just about ripped his face off, not that long ago. Bears. Yeah. They were fuckin' good. He barreled out of the dust cloud as a grizzly, charging at Mishka full speed and gnashing at him. He didn't make contact, but there was a blaze around his teeth, left over from the fireball. It faded quickly, but he was still a fucking bear, which felt pretty goddamn good. 'COYOTE ' Mishka ducked. Holy fuck. “Are you a fucking bear?” Mishka yelled at him, skirting back. “Did you just fucking breathe fire at me? Are you a fucking fire-breathing bear now?” He laughed giddily. He lobbed another fireball. Did some damage. Missed with the rapier. 'IZZY ' Hansel wished he could fucking laugh, too, because yeah, it was fuckin' great. God, maybe he could be a fire-breathing bear. Was that a thing? He bet they could make that a thing. He snapped at Mishka again, still only getting air, and shook off some of the ash from that last fireball. Kind of didn't even care about winning, right now, which was frankly unheard of. Hansel always won. Just this moment, though, Hansel was just having a good fuckin' time. 'COYOTE ' Mishka backed up a little more, breathless and grinning. He was burning through energy fast. He was pretty sure that was Hansel’s game— outlast time, then take him down once he had no shielding spells left, no more fireballs. It was a good strategy. It might work, too. Mishka cracked another fireball off. Hit, this time. 'IZZY ' That one knocked the fucking wind out of him. Knocked the bear out of him, too. He came out laughing, taking a knee and wiping some soot out of his face. He called, "Nice hit, ahuvi," out through the dust, then dug his fingers into the sand and launched himself at Mishka again, shifting back into a bear as he did. Wasn't as easy to fuckin' hit shit with just his teeth -- didn't have the range he was used to. Another miss. 'COYOTE ' Mishka dodged, and kept dodging. The bear forms were weak, but Hansel was forcing him to spend energy taking them down. Wasting spells. Still, if Mishka hit him hard enough, fast enough, maybe he could still win. Another fireball. More damage, then Hansel reverted to half-orc form. The dancing rapier dove in to hit and clanged uselessly off Hansel’s armor. Should’ve attacked earlier, before the fireball knocked him back into humanoid form. 'IZZY ' Hansel came out laughing again. God, that was just fuckin' fun, getting knocked down and coming right back up only a little battered. He was tapped out for shapeshifting -- could feel it. He had a lot more up his sleeve, though. He didn't take a knee this time -- not as much of the blow had carried over from his bear form. He acted fast, swiping his new javelin off his back and hurling it at Mishka, too fueled by adrenaline to be too bothered by the lightning. It sunk into Mishka's shoulder, piercing his magic shield and delivering the brunt of the shock into him. Then he lunged forward, whipping his trident into his hand for three quick attacks; one slipped off the shield with another glittering crackle, but the second and third sinking in and shoving Mishka down into the sand on his back. Hansel thought about the ship again. Mishka was fuckin' loving this, bright-eyed, very much himself. He was all right. They were all right. Breathless from the charge and leaning over him, Hansel asked it anyway: "All good, cap'n?" 'COYOTE ' “No mercy,” Mishka said breathlessly. (A fast check. Hansel seemed okay— a little on edge, but okay. Good. Amazing.) Mishka didn’t even try to get away. He snapped his fingers instead. The gem on Hansel’s trident glowed, trying to absorb the spell, and Hansel grinned, but Mishka fought it— and won, firing off the spell. 'IZZY ' Goddammit. Fuckin' gem. Hansel took the full force of the fireball, flinching against it. He didn't have a chance to weaken the blow with magic -- just had to stand there and take it. He was pretty goddamn good at taking hits, though, and with the fire still raging, he drew back and slammed the trident down into Mishka again. It died down, and he blinked his eyes back open. The sand around them had all turned to glass, and Mishka's rapier slipped out of his limp hand, clicking against it. His head had lolled off to the side. His eyes were closed. He was not -- definitely not -- fucking dead. Hansel wrenched his trident away and dropped down next to him. Okay. All okay. Totally fine. He had a scrap of magic left -- he scooped Mishka into his arms and whispered, "Hey, hey, ahuvi -- wake up, yerechi v khovachim," breathing everything he had left into it. 'COYOTE ' Mishka dozed in and out of blackness. For a second, it was terrifying: Being pinned by the trident was a grim reminder of being possessed by the Hunger, and for a moment, it felt like she had him again. His body was too stiff and heavy to move, and shadows kept trying to swallow him up. But there was Hansel. A guiding light gently pulling him back up, giving him more energy. Mishka clung to him weakly, whimpering. 'IZZY ' Hansel breathed out. Okay. All okay. He petted Mishka's hair and kissed his forehead. "Got you, ahuvi," he murmured. "All good." He fumbled for one of his potions and shifted to hold Mishka's head in his lap, tilting him up to gently press his lips to the neck of the bottle. His hand shook a little. He'd feel better once Mishka said something. 'COYOTE ' “Mmhm,” Mishka said. Eyes flickered shut again. He leaned into Hansel with this last of his energy, letting the potions trickle down his throat. He felt better, but that was probably just because he was lying in Hansel’s lap. He felt some wounds close from Hansel’s magic, but his head still felt— weird from getting hit. 'IZZY ' Hansel chewed his lip a second. All fine. All good. He set the empty bottle aside and gently gathered Mishka up more to hold him, curled up, against his chest. He tried to block out the fucking barrage of thoughts -- you did this, you fucking monster, you could've killed him, you're so fucking stupid, you knew this would happen and you did it anyway, you just want to hurt him, don't you, you just want to hurt people, you know it's all you're good at. Grit his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut against them. Deep breath -- seven seconds in, seven seconds out. All fine. All fine. He stroked Mishka's hair and hummed a little, softly. He sniffled. He wasn't crying. He didn't ... get to cry. He was the one who'd done this. 'COYOTE ' Hansel was making a noise— a choked little breath, like he was holding it in. Mishka was mildly alarmed (what was wrong? Everything was so good. Hansel had done so well.) “Hey,” Mishka said softly. “It’s okay, Hansel.” But before he could say anything else, consciousness slipped away again. 'IZZY ' Mishka mumbled, then went limp. Still breathing -- just unconscious again. How very fucking like him it'd be, though, if his last words after Hansel beat him to death were, Hey, it's okay, Hansel. It was okay, though. Hansel sniffled again and took a breath. Mishka was all right enough to've noticed he was upset and tried to comfort him -- got a whole thought out, too. He'd been hurt worse than this, Hansel was just being ... himself. He tried to be a little less that version of himself, and a little more master-at-arms. "A'right." He stretched to grab his trident and returned it to his back, then picked up Mishka's rapier and slipped it into his bandolier as well. "Let's go home, eh, cap'n?" He pushed up, resettling Mishka against his chest and wincing. He kept talking quietly as he started limping back up the path towards the castle, more to himself because he didn't think Mishka was awake. "'Bout had me there, ahuvi. Fuckin' up a couple bears all on your own and shit. Was fun, eh?" He winced again, rolling his shoulders. "Gonna need that couch t'rest my weary goddamn bones on after that shit. Good thing, though." He lifted Mishka up a bit more to kiss his forehead. "Since it's my couch, gonna be yours, too. S'pose I can let you nap on it now and then. If I'm feelin' generous and all." He kept slouching on towards the castle. He'd ... missed sparring with Mishka. It was satisfying -- working out against someone evenly-matched, not having to worry too much about hurting them, enjoying the challenge without the threat of dying. They'd have to do it again. Maybe have Goro or Luci around so he wouldn't get like this, but -- Yeah. He squeezed Mishka to his chest. It was good. '''LINA --- Goro had sliced himself some bread and cheese, and now he was looking for mustard, because Raef had judged his sandwich-making choices last time. At least put some mustard on there, he'd said, and Goro had asked why, and Raef had shaken his head sadly like Goro was beyond hope. Fuckin' ridiculous. He finally found the jar, and was spreading some on his bread when he saw Hansel through the door to the dining room. He was carrying Mishka, looking around--and when he spotted Goro, he headed Goro's way. Goro's first thought was aw, cute, until he realized how fucking scorched Hansel looked. And the fact that Mishka wasn't moving. His head was limp against Hansel's chest. Goro dropped the knife and the slice of bread. He ran into the dining room, hopping over a couple chairs that were in his way, meeting Hansel at the end of the table. "What happened? What happened?" His hands hovered over Mishka for a second as he took in the state of him--Mishka looked burned, too, and he was bleeding, but Goro couldn't see from where in that position. He snatched up Mishka's wrist, checking for a pulse, which he found. "Here, here, put him on the table." IZZY ' Hansel did, relieved because he was fucking sore and tired and thank fuckin' Mask, he supposed, that Goro was the first person he'd seen. Kept his hand under Mishka's head to pillow it, though, and held onto one of Mishka's hands with the other one. "Uh," he said. His voice was a bit ragged from the determined lack of crying, and from the fact he'd kept talking and singing all the way back in case Mishka woke up. Wanted him to know Hansel was the one who had him straight away, know he was safe. '''COYOTE ' Mishka dozed in and out as Hansel carried him. This was good. This was nice. He jolted awake when he felt himself being set down, making a small sound of protest. His eyes flickered open. Hansel was holding his head, and he was lying on a table, and people were holding his wrists and hands. Hansel and Goro were both there. “Hey,” Mishka said, pleased. '''LINA Goro let his breath out in a huff, shaking slightly with relief. He triggered his springblade and cut Mishka's shirt open unceremoniously--Mishka could bitch at him for it later, when he was safe and well, and Goro supposed he'd be at it with his mending cantrip for a while--and examined the injuries. Mishka was partially healed over. Hansel's healing magic, Goro guessed; maybe some potions. But enough of the trauma remained for Goro to see the nature of it. Trident prongs, and lightning. He looked up at Hansel grimly, hands going still. Hansel looked uncomfortable, but he wasn't sick or unconscious like after the other possessions. Maybe it... hadn't been that bad? COYOTE ' “Hey,” Mishka said, batting at Goro’s hand. Or trying to, at least, and missing. That didn’t work or make Goro stop ruining his clothes. Mishka frowned. He supposed they were already covered in blood, which was a pain in the ass to wash out. “We were sparring,” Mishka said, pleased with himself. He reached up and patted Hansel’s face, because Hansel still looked upset. “Hansel, Hansel. You won.” '''IZZY ' "Uh-huh." He tried to smile, leaning into Mishka's hand. Mishka was way fuckin' happier about it than he was -- he kind of wished he'd lost. Mishka was okay, though. All okay. "Told you." '''LINA Goro blinked a few times. He straightened up from leaning over Mishka. "What?" COYOTE ' Ah. Now he felt like he fucked up. Hansel didn’t look— better, he looked... unhappy, still, but leaning into Mishka’s hand, which was nice. “Went fighting,” Mishka said vaguely. “Bored.” Then, “Should’ve brought a healer. Hindsight.” '''IZZY ' "Aye," Hansel agreed. He glanced at Goro, feeling a bit fuckin' sheepish. Goro'd probably think it was a dumb fucking pastime in general, much less doing it without someone with real healing magic. "Used to, uh. Used to spar all the time." He took Mishka's hand and kissed the knuckles. Lot of reasons why they'd stopped. '''LINA Goro took a step back from the table. He stared at them both. COYOTE ' “What?” '''IZZY ' Hansel wanted to reach out for Goro to pull him back, but he didn't have enough hands right now. Didn't wanna take'em off Mishka while Mishka was hurt. He just made a confused, distressed sound instead. "Hey. Hang on. Gotta heal him. Please." '''LINA Goro kept staring, eyes gradually narrowing. He took his wand out of his robes and looked between the two of them, grinding his teeth. He glanced at his vitality bracelet--yeah, Hansel wasn't in great shape, either. Goro scowled even deeper. Frankly, they'd both fucking live without his help, but he guessed he didn't want them to suffer and shit. He used up half the wand's charges on Mishka, bringing him well out of danger of passing out again. He considered, and used another charge on Mishka, too--Hansel could walk his injuries off more readily. He waved the wand over Hansel, next, before Hansel had a chance to object. Maybe he'd objected strongly enough in his head, though, since Goro could tell those last two charges hardly did shit. Damn. COYOTE ' Mishka stretched, feeling far better now. He swung his legs down off the table. “Are you alright?” he said doubtfully to Hansel. “Neshama, my love, it was sweet of you to spar with me. Maybe we drag our healer along next time, hm?” He wrapped an arm around Goro’s shoulders possessively. He wanted Hansel to be calm. Happy. They could go slower, next time. Didn’t have to fight to the point of passing out. '''IZZY ' Hansel nodded. He felt a bit better physically -- the burns had started closing up, but the amount of punishment he could take outpaced the amount Goro could easily heal. Was something Serena had grumbled about regularly, telling him to just fuckin' sleep it off and leave her alone. Mostly felt better seeing Mishka upright again, though. That let him relax and breath easier again. Just a sparring match -- like every other sparring match they'd ever had. "All good," he said. Tiny bit shaky. He'd get over it. He pulled Mishka in to kiss the top of his head, then did the same to Goro. "Yeah, probably oughta, uh. Think ahead next time." It'd been different on the Blade -- Serena was never far off. '''LINA Goro kept glowering at the two of them. He put a hand on Hansel's shoulder and bowed his head, praying quietly to heal him further. He opened his eyes and shook out his wrist to check the bracelet again. Not great still, but Hansel would feel better, at least. He considered leaving it at that, saving the rest of his magic for true emergencies, except he was thinking about how Hansel had healed Mishka a little bit, and how they had other potions lying around, and decided he'd better earn his keep. So he grabbed both their hands and said one more prayer. Fuckers. Wasn't like he cared if they wanted to spar and fry the shit out of each other for fun. Sure, whatever. But fucking going off and doing it without saying anything? Just assuming, or whatever, he'd be ready and waiting when they got back? "Well, you're welcome," he muttered, and shrugged them both off so he could go back to his sandwich-making. COYOTE ' Mishka looked contrite. He glanced at Hansel. '''IZZY ' Hansel wrapped both his arms around Mishka, kind of leaning on him, because at this point Mishka looked better off than he felt. "Y'know," he stage-whispered, "he liked it when I was a cat. Shame I'm outta magic, or I'd give him kitty eyes. Bet he'd forgive us then." '''LINA Goro stopped to give them a look over his shoulder. "Nothing to fuckin' forgive, I'm just hungry. And I dropped my sandwich fixings all over the damn counter, worrying about you jerks. Sparring. God." COYOTE ' Mishka leaned back contentedly into Hansel’s arms, trying to support him a little. Mishka watched Goro go, amused. He didn’t normally think You’re cute when you’re angry— it felt infantilizing— but it was, genuinely, pretty fucking cute. Huffing and lecturing them. Puffed up like an offended cat. His complaint faded into grumbles as he exited into the kitchen. “He’ll be back,” Mishka said to Hansel. '''IZZY ' "Mm," Hansel agreed. He squeezed Mishka and kissed his head, then shifted to sit on the table himself, letting out a tired huff. He pulled Mishka to sit on the table with him, between his legs, back-to-chest, and planted his face in Mishka's hair. "You have fun?" he asked, muffled, his eyes closed. 'COYOTE ' Mm. This wouldn’t do. He couldn’t hug Hansel like this. Mishka shifted around so he was sitting in Hansel’s lap instead, facing him, chest to chest, then gently pulled Hansel in again so Hansel’s face rested against his hair and shoulder. He didn’t answer, just idly stroked Hansel’s thick hair. 'IZZY ' Hansel grumbled a bit at Mishka moving around, but then made a satisfied sound as Mishka pulled him in. Yeah. That was good, too. He closed his eyes again and looped his arms around Mishka's waist loosely. He had this ... vague feeling that he was ruining shit. Always had that feeling. Right now, though, it was coming off the fact that he'd won their little match and now he had to be coddled over it. Mishka had just wanted to spar, like they always used to -- always used to have a good fucking time doing it, too. Hansel just wanted that -- wanted to be that way again. Wasn't like Mishka was upset with him, or anything, though. Wasn't leaving him. It was all fine. '''LINA Goro finished putting his sandwich together. He went and stood in the doorway to the dining room, leaning against the frame, and ate one-handed while he stared at them. COYOTE ' “Pay me five gold and I’ll make out with him for you,” Mishka said, still stroking Hansel’s hair. '''IZZY ' Hansel snorted and didn't lift his head. '''LINA "I don't pay for shit that comes free after hours," Goro said, mouth full. COYOTE ' “Maybe we’ll start charging after hours, too. What say you, my love?” '''IZZY ' "Might have to if he's gonna get uppity 'bout it." '''LINA Goro took another bite, chewed, and swallowed. He shrugged. "Eh. I've seen better." COYOTE ' Mishka scoffed. Then relented: “Probably.” He and Hansel kept it pretty tame in front of Goro. '''IZZY ' "Pfff." Hansel cracked an eye at Goro. "Hey. How come we don't get sandwiches, huh? We're injured, and shit." '''LINA "Maybe I'm injured, too. You don't know." COYOTE ' Mishka attempted to slide out of Hansel’s lap towards the kitchen. '''IZZY ' Hansel grumbled and tightened around him. If either of the two of'em was going to get food from the kitchen, it sure wasn't gonna be the one who'd been knocked out a minute ago. He peeked down at his bracelet and held it up. All green. "Don't know, my ass." '''LINA Aw, fuckin' shit. He really should've thought that one through. He shoved the last of the sandwich into his mouth and retreated into the kitchen, where he threw together two more sandwiches--both with mustard, Raef--and stacked them onto a plate. He walked back out and set it on the table beside them. COYOTE ' Mishka frowned. The sandwich made him feel all warm and fuzzy and shit, which always made him suspicious. He knew why it made him itch. Growing up, tiny gestures of affection usually came with some sort’ve strings attached. Everything was meaningful; the precise way of accepting or rejecting a small gift, the language you used... being too enthusiastic might imply interest in a person, which might invite trouble, but not being enthusiastic enough might be seen as rude or dismissive... His mother tutored him strictly on high elven court manners, and they were both maddening and complicated. Even now, sitting here with people he loved and felt relaxed with, sometimes those memories bothered him. This, Mishka realized, was ridiculous. It was a sandwich. It was Goro, grumbling and scowling at them for doing dumb shit. He was sitting on a table with his husband in Glimmerton. Also, he really fucking wanted the sandwich. And he was really fucking grateful he was sitting here. Getting carried home by his husband and then patched up by his chaver. Getting fed a fucking sandwich. One of the sandwiches had extra cheese and meat, and the other was vegetarian. God. It was... all domestic and shit. Mishka shoved the sandwich in his mouth gratefully. He tried to say thanks and it came out choked. He gave Goro a thumbs up instead. '''IZZY ' Hansel made a pleased sound at Mishka eating, and reached out to drag Goro up onto the table next to them, looping one arm around his waist and holding onto Mishka with the other. He kissed Goro's head. "Thanks, ahuv." '''LINA Goro scoffed lightly. That was his style, he guessed: don't get a thank you, act bitter about it; get a thank you, brush it off. Maybe someday he'd figure this shit out. He was relieved to see Mishka gobbling the sandwich down. His gaze flicked between Mishka and Hansel, brow furrowing. God fucking damn it. These fucking idiots. "Well are you okay, or what?" COYOTE ' “No. I’m dying. Hansel is, too. Come take a bath with us. You’ll have to watch us to make sure we don’t pass out and drown.” Then he said, “Or you could just come with because I like you and want you around. You know. Whichever.” He nudged the sandwich towards Hansel, then realized Hansel had no hands left, and tried to feed it to Hansel himself. '''IZZY ' Hansel grumbled good-naturedly and took a bite. Wasn't even hungry, really, he'd just wanted to tease Goro for standing there and watching them while he ate. He figured he could enjoy his fiance making him a sandwich and his husband feeding it to him, though. "You got any magic left? Dunno if I got the strength to walk down t'the baths," he said grimly, around a mouthful of bread. "Dyin', an' all." 'COYOTE ' “Me? Sure fuckin’ don’t.” '''LINA "Finish the sandwich to get your strength back," Goro suggested dryly. "Wait, you didn't die. Did you?" IZZY ' "Nah, nah." He took another bite so he wouldn't have to think about that. '''COYOTE ' “I almost won,” Mishka said, because that was the important thing. '''LINA Goro snorted. "Bet you did." He kept frowning, eyeing Mishka. "Next time, get my help first, and we'll take him down together." IZZY ' "Hey," Hansel objected. '''COYOTE ' “That sounds like cheating. I’m down.” He closed his eyes and leaned against Hansel contentedly. “We ought to have a whole tournament.” '''LINA "Or fuckin' not. Who's gonna heal everyone then?" IZZY ' "You can forfeit," Hansel said placidly. "Believe that counts as a loss, don't it, khochav?" '''COYOTE ' “Mhm.” '''LINA "Nah, nah, you don't get it. A fuckin' tournament? Gonna have like ten fuckin' people lying around, bleeding all over the place, and what, you think I'm gonna have enough magic to patch everyone up? Eesh." COYOTE ' Mishka nodded grudgingly. He really wanted to do a huge tournament with all of them fighting each other— but what if someone found out about the tournament and used the opportunity to murder all of them at once? “Too many enemies,” Mishka mused out loud. “Boo.” Then he froze. His eyes widened. A slow smile broke across his face. “Hey,” Mishka said. '''IZZY ' Ah, he had that worrying look in his eyes. "Hm?" Hansel prodded, amused. 'COYOTE ' “You know what we need? Like... a whole lot of clerics. Just hanging around. Conveniently. Who would heal us for free.” '''LINA Goro put a hand over his face. Ah, yup. This was happening. No going back now. IZZY ' Hansel made an approving sound and nodded. He squeezed Mishka and kissed his temple. "Clever as always, captain." '''COYOTE ' Mishka attempted to slide off the table. “Bathe,” he said. “Hans, you smell like burned hair.” '''LINA Goro hesitated. "Do you actually need help getting downstairs?" 'IZZY ' "Well, whose fuckin' fault is that," Hansel grumbled at Mishka, letting him go this time. He kissed Goro's head. "Nah. Just fuckin' with you." 'COYOTE ' Mishka gathered up the scraps of his shirt and tossed it in the trash, wrinkling his nose. He motioned, offering to slip under Hansel’s arm again. 'IZZY ' Hansel slid off the table too, bringing Goro along, and happily propped on Mishka with the other arm. Ah, yes. Good. Excellent. He always liked having one of'em on each side. Still made him feel like a fucking king. end Title: Fire-Breathing Bear. Summary: Mishka and Hansel have a sparring match. Hansel wins, and gets his favorite couch. Goro is enlisted to patch them up after, which he grumbles about. Category:Text Roleplay